Japanese inspired former home of designer Kenzo Takada for sale in Paris

From its traditional Japanese pavilion, complete with a tea ceremony room, to the koi pond that stretches through a serene internal courtyard and the ample use of ceramic, stone, bamboo, and wood, The Kenzo House looks and feels like a designer oasis in the heart of Kyoto.

Instead, you’ll find this abode in the trendy 11th arrondissement of Paris, hidden in the courtyard of an 18th-century building.

The home is the creation of celebrated Japanese fashion designer Kenzo Takada, founder of French luxury fashion house Kenzo, who passed away in 2020. The home was painstakingly constructed over seven years and completed in 1993, with all the materials imported from Japan.

As a designer, Takada was known for his jungle prints, bright graphics, global aesthetic, and whimsical spirit. Like his sartorial designs, the home is a work of art, seamlessly blending east and west influences, light and colour, and incorporating a strong connection to nature, which is a common theme in Japanese architecture.

When Takada later sold The Kenzo House, the new owners decided to give the place a refresh in 2018. They engaged famed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, whose projects include the Japan National Stadium and the Suntory Museum of Art in Tokyo. While Kuma added a number of updates, most notably to angle all of the rooms to the internal courtyard, he largely stuck tightly to the original vision.

The unique home is now on the market again, listed with Belles demeures de France and Christie’s International Real Estate. Selling agent Marie-Helene Lundgreen says from the moment you step inside, you get “a feeling of serenity and quietness”.

Spread over four levels, the home boasts four main bedrooms, each with an en suite bathroom and dressing room. There’s also plenty of space for staff or visitors with a further three self-contained studios within the home. Then there are the two kitchens and two dining rooms, as well as the music room, a gym, and a wine cellar. An elevator means you can seamlessly move between the levels while there’s space for two cars underneath.

And then there are the Japanese features. The traditional pavilion has the tea ceremony room, tatami mats and shoji sliding doors open to the Japanese garden. There you’ll find a stone-studded pond stocked with nishiki carp, plus cherry and maple trees, bamboo, junipers, lichens, mosses, rocks, and waterfalls, which mimic the calm of the Japanese landscape.  A stunning engawa, a traditional wooden lattice Japanese corridor, replaced an original indoor lap pool.

As well as anchoring the home’s design, the central courtyard also ensures every part of the home feels intimately linked with nature. Ample use of wood creates a calming atmosphere throughout the home and further highlights that connection to nature, from the facade’s cedar shingles to French oak louvres, beams and floors throughout.

The famed home has only had three owners to date, and it’s been a much-loved space in which to entertain over the years. Lundgreen says The Kenzo House’s true highlight is “the incredible living-reception room redesigned by Kengo Kuma, bathed in light, opening to the Japanese garden on one side and the splendid wooden terrace and its patio on the other side”.

She says since coming to market, the abode has attracted international attention, ranging from art collectors and fashion designers to film producers, families and an actress.

When you’re inside The Kenzo House, it feels like being tucked away in a Zen-like oasis, but step outside, and you’re unmistakably in the City of Light. From your front door, it’s just a five-minute walk to Place de la Bastille and the famous Palais Garnier. You’re also spoiled for choice with more than 50 restaurants nearby. On Sundays, you can also stroll to one of the best food markets in the city, where you can pick up fresh vegetables, fish and cheeses.

“It is located in the trendy Bastille area with its bustling activity and just a stone’s throw away from fashionable Marais district with Picasso Museum, famous historic Place des Vosges and its art galleries and fashion shops,” says Lundgreen.